The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to come up with an action plan to reduce rising instances of drug and alcohol abuse among school children. The apex court has given the government six months to formulate the plan, reported PTI.

A bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and DY Chandrachud said children who are addicted to substance and alcohol abuse tend to become “drug peddlers”. They also asked the Centre to conduct a national survey within four months to understand the spread of the problem, reported IANS.

Besides, the top court asked the government to take a fresh look at the school curriculum to spread awareness about substance abuse and its ill-effects among children. The court was hearing a petition filed by Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s NGO, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, in 2014. In its plea, the NGO had also suggested that rehabilitation and de-addiction centres should be set up in each of the country’s districts with a wing dedicated to children.